Best Time to Post Reels on Instagram
The best time to post Reels on Instagram, according to most big studies, is a weekday afternoon or evening in your audience's time zone. The two studies that looked at Reels alone found the middle of the night instead, and my own reels barely moved with the hour.
- Why 2027: 2026 is almost over, so think of this as your Reels clock for next year. Every number here comes from studies published in 2026 and from my own account, and this page gets new numbers when the first 2027 studies appear.
- Most studies: Sprout Social gives Reels the same windows as every other post. Buffer says evenings, 6 to 11 p.m., with Wednesday and Thursday strongest.
- Reels-only studies: Later found midnight, with Monday the best day. Adobe Express found the most views at 3 a.m. Eastern.
- My reels: for 189 reels that never went to my profile, every posting window with at least 7 reels landed between 2,854 and 4,535 median views.
- Trial Reels: they go to people who don't follow you first, so the hook does more work than the hour.
What do the studies say about Reels?
Most of the famous "best time" studies mix every kind of post together. Only two of the ones I checked looked at Reels by themselves, and they disagree with the rest.
| Study | Reels only? | Best time for Reels | Best time for all posts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Later, 2026 | Yes, over 975,000 Reels | Midnight. Monday is the best day, strong from midnight to 6 a.m. | 5 a.m. |
| Adobe Express, 2026 | Yes, 20,247 Reels from 149 top creators | Most views at 3 a.m. Eastern, most likes at 6 a.m. Eastern | Reels only |
| Buffer, 2026 | No, all post types together | Evenings, 6 to 11 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday | The same evenings, plus Thursday morning |
| Sprout Social, 2026 | No, all post types | Same as all posts | Monday 2 to 4 p.m., Tuesday 1 to 7 p.m., Wednesday noon to 9 p.m., Thursday noon to 2 p.m. |
| RecurPost, 2026 | A roundup | 9 a.m. to noon on weekdays, and 6 to 9 p.m. | Afternoon to early evening for feed posts |
So the answer splits in two. The studies that mix every format say weekday afternoons and evenings. The two that looked at Reels alone found the middle of the night. Adobe's numbers are averages from 149 top creators, so a few huge reels can pull them around. Adobe also found that noon Eastern is the busiest hour for new Reels, so posting then means more company.
Sources: Later's report of April 21, 2026; Adobe Express's Reels data, gathered in April 2026; Buffer's numbers from September 2026; Sprout Social's numbers from March 2026; RecurPost's 2026 guide.
Why does Reels timing work differently from feed posts?
Instagram has explained this itself. For Feed, one of the signals it lists is when a post was shared, so a fresh post has an edge. For Reels, it says most of what people see comes from accounts they don't follow.
Its creator FAQ adds the other half. When you share a reel, your followers are usually the first to see it. As the reel gets shown to more people who don't follow you, your chance of new followers goes up. On my account, that second part is most of the story. My Insights for my strongest 90 days, April 28 to July 27, 2026, show 12,194,417 views, and only 4.7% of them came from my followers. Those are my results, not a promise of yours.
| Format | Who sees it first | What the hour decides |
|---|---|---|
| Feed post | Your followers | Whether they catch it while it's fresh, since Instagram lists when a post was shared as a Feed signal |
| Normal reel | Usually your followers | Who's awake for the first push, before it spreads to people who don't follow you |
| Trial Reel | People who don't follow you | Which strangers are scrolling when it starts. Your followers' clock doesn't apply at first |
Put that together and the clock has one main job for Reels. It decides who's awake for the first push. After that, the reel travels to strangers who scroll at all hours, in every time zone.
Sources: how Instagram explains its ranking (May 31, 2023), the creator FAQ and Instagram's trial reels help article, all three read November 3, 2026; my Insights for that 90 day stretch.
What do 189 of my reels say about the clock?
Most of my reels, 189 out of 243, never went to my profile. Of my 21.9 million reel views, those reels brought in 18.2 million, or 83%, and they include my 8 biggest. So I checked how their views line up with the hour I posted them, in US Eastern time.
For these reels, the hour barely moved the typical result. The big ones spread out too. 17 of the 189 passed 100,000 views, and they went up as early as 5:41 a.m. and as late as 11:38 p.m. Eastern. My biggest reel, 8,383,319 views, went up at 10:56 p.m. on a Tuesday.
Most of the 17 landed between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., but that's also when I posted most. I put 128 of the 189 in the 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. stretch. So I can't call midday my magic hour. So on my account, I can't find the clock deciding which reels took off. These are my numbers, and yours will be different.
Source: public view counts and post times for my reels, pulled November 2, 2026 and shown in US Eastern, with profile status as of November 3. Lifetime views.
Timing matters less once you test on strangers first. My free video walks through exactly how I do that.
Watch the videoWhat is the best time to post Trial Reels?
Trial Reels change the question. A trial reel goes out to non-followers before anyone else, and your followers won't see it in their feed or the Reels tab. If it does well, you can share it to everyone yourself, or turn on a setting that shares it for you when it performs well soon after you post.
So your followers' most active times matter less here. What still matters is that strangers are awake and scrolling. If most of the people you want to reach live in one country, post in their daytime or evening. Instagram also says trial reels can take longer to get views, and that you'll see their insights within 24 hours.
What moves a Trial Reel more than the hour is the first line. In one test I kept the footage and changed the hook and the song, three times. Views went from 2,758 to 85,878 to 747,760. That's one test on my account, and your numbers will differ.
One thing a lot of Trial Reels timing posts get wrong: you don't always need 1,000 followers. Instagram's help center says professional accounts need at least 200 followers and personal accounts need 1,000, and the account has to be public. If they're new to you, my Trial Reels guide covers the basics. And if you're wondering about volume, here's how many Trial Reels to post each day.
Sources: the same trial reels help page, plus Instagram's launch post on trial reels from December 10, 2024; my own Insights for the hook test.
How should you time your Reels this week?
The five-study chart and my five biggest reels live in one place: best time to post on Instagram.
Questions people ask
What time is best for Instagram Reels?
Most studies point to weekday afternoons and evenings in your audience's time zone. Buffer says 6 to 11 p.m., with Wednesday and Thursday strongest. The two Reels-only studies found the middle of the night, so test both.
What is the peak time for Instagram?
There isn't one for everyone. Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, put it plainly in June 2026: no single time works for all accounts, so look at your insights. Your own peak is in your followers' most active times.
Does it matter what time you post a Trial Reel?
Less than for a normal reel, because a trial reel's first audience is people outside your followers. Your followers' online hours don't count at the start. Post when the strangers you want are awake, and put your effort into the hook.
How long do Trial Reels take to get views?
Instagram says they can take longer than normal reels, because they're shown to people who don't follow you, and that insights show up within 24 hours. Its launch post adds that automatic sharing is based on views in the first 72 hours.
Should I post Reels and feed posts at the same time?
You can, but they work differently. Feed ranking weighs when a post was shared, so time feed posts for your followers. Reels spread to people who don't follow you, so their hour matters less after the first push.
Sources: Mosseri's June 2026 reel, the Instagram pages linked above, and Buffer's 2026 numbers.
Ready to test your reels, not just time them? My free 10-minute video shows my Trial Reels routine, from the first line to the repost.
New to Trial Reels? Read what they are and how they work.